Pegasus
by 1arigato
Summary: There are three rules of the business world: Fischer, Wayne, and Stark. It's only natural that strange things happen when the three famous CEOs are put in the same room. Rating may go up to T


There were three rules of the business world:

Fischer

Wayne

and Stark.

Fischer Corp was the clean energy that ran Wayne Enterprises transports that shipped Stark Industries technology, or so it went. Stark Industries had the influence of a privately-owned business that had sold only to the government and was now trying to break into the public, commercial scene, and with the existence of the deeply-rooted Wayne Enterprises and its global reach, Stark Industries could only respect the production giant.

_Fischer Corp_ was the shock. Despite having been handed the Fischer Morrow empire on a silver platter stained with his father's death, young Robert Fischer had chopped up the company and sold its chunks to the fastest — not highest — bidder, and then had formed a completely new company out of the ashes.

Needless to say, the corporate prince must have had done something right, because Fischer Corp surpassed its predecessor in less than two years and became a global clean energy superpower that cast a shadow on even Proclus Global.

The three companies' CEOs also couldn't be more different. Tony had graduated at a young age, hailed as a genius, and he had just recently taken the reigns after the apparent betrayal of his guardian, Obidiah Stane. It was his status as the butt-kicking machine dubbed Iron Man, however, that separated him from the average billionaire.

Not much was known about Robert, and his business agenda was practically a Sherlock-worthy mystery — a stark contrast against the bold, extravagant…Stark. As for Wayne Enterprises, everyone knew that it was practically run by Lucius Fox while Gotham's Prince wasted himself at night parties and slept at work.

It was only natural that strange things would happen when the three of them were put in the same room.

* * *

[August 2007]

"It's just hard to accept that my father never loved me like I wish he did."

A charity ball wasn't the place to discuss personal thoughts, because events like these were where businessmen hunted one another down and played tricks with words and gestures in order to get information and connections. Alone at the side of the room, however, Robert could trust that his conversation would be unintelligible at the most, a low murmur indistinguishable from the room's chatter at the least. Saito looked sharp in his tailored suit, a Rolex peaking out from his sleeves as he raised a wine glass to his lips.

"You should tell Cobb and the Team," Saito advised. "I have told them that you've learned of Inception and that they should not worry, but they will only truly loosen up if you talk to them yourself." Robert considered Saito over his own champagne. "Why do you help me?"

Saito turned his eyes from watching the crowd to Robert's own gaze. "You actually care about clean energy." "That's it?" "Well," Saito made a small motion with his wrist, "you have potential for greatness. If you weren't Maurice's son, I would long ago have already allowed you to grow as you are doing so now."

Robert refused to be flustered in a public event by his supposed rival CEO. "What of Proclus Global?" "What of it?" Saito replied honestly. "I've had a vision for the future, and spending a lifetime in limbo has only solidified my ambition; I now see the foolishness in working alone. With you, there is a future of pure clean energy."

"Not everyone sees that," Robert softly noted. "Not everyone can predict the global human network," Saito replied. Robert lifted a brow. "Is everyone involved in dreams an expert in psychology?" he asked. Saito responded with a cryptic, close-lipped smile. "Aren't you?"

Before Robert could come up with a rely, Saito picked up on a figure heading their way. "Speaking of psychology, Stark is coming after you like an ex-girlfriend. He may be interested in your agenda — like everyone else around here."

Robert gave a deadpan stare, which was the prim man's equivalent of wrinkling his nose. "Please don't phrase it that way." "It's true," Saito chuckled into his glass of wine, and then patted Robert's shoulder. "Good luck." Robert started. "Saito—"

"If it isn't Mr. Fischer!"

Robert turned to greet Tony with a pleasant, close-lipped smile. "Just Robert, please. Mr. Fischer was my father." "I know the feeling," Tony animatedly gestured his sympathies and knocked back a glass of scotch. Wait — how did he get that? Robert mentally shook his head. Billionaires. But then, he was one too.

"It's a pleasure meeting you for the first time," Robert offered to shake hands. Tony ignored it and threw an arm around Robert's shoulders, apparently having no sense of personal space. The tech genius waved his glass around as he spoke.

"I'm shocked we haven't properly met before — big fan, by the way. I like what you've done in northern Africa; terrorists can't steal, spill, or light up oil there now with electricity as the main energy source. It makes my job easier." "Saving the world?" Robert clarified, already knowing the answer.

"Naw, he's all about mutually assured destruction! Right, Anthony?"

Tony inwardly cringed at the voice, reminded why he hated charity balls. They never had good liquor, the women wore real clothing (although Tony was _slowly!_ weaning himself off these vices now that he and Pepper were together, but still), and most of all, so long as it was held in the northeastern US, charity balls were almost always hosted by—

"Before I forget, I want to apologise about the stocks!" the voice was closer, now. "I guess the world finds the familiar Wayne Enterprises more reliable than your newly public Stark Industries."

— **Bruce Wayne.**

"It will be Wayne Enterprises' greatest rival in less than a year," Tony turned to Bruce and replied in a way that could be sarcastic or serious. Bruce just obliviously laughed like Tony had told a joke. "And Robert!" Bruce acknowledged. Ugh. One of Tony's pet peeves was people who acted like they were everybody's best friend. "How do you like my party?"

"Charity ball," Tony couldn't help correcting. "It's elegant," Robert smoothly replied over Tony's smart remark. "I sent my girls over there," Bruce unnecessarily gestured to the twin supermodels giggling by the champagne, from where they cooed something in Italian to Bruce. Tony rolled his eyes.

Bruce sent the models a heart-stopping smile and threw an Italian word back to them before returning to the conversation. "Carmela wants to know if Stark Industries is through with weaponry for good," Bruce gestured to one of the models.

"I'm not going to be used as a pick-up tool," Tony responded. "What?" Bruce looked genuinely confused. "I already have the girls as dates. Why would I need your help for picking them up?" Ooo, burn. "Tell Caramel that any gun Stark has is bigger than what Wayne can offer," Tony replied. Bruce's brows furrowed.

"Her name's Carmela."

"That's all he noticed of what I—" Tony mumbled under his breath, then looked at Bruce directly. "_Talking with you is impossible,_" Tony enunciated like to a hard-hearing person. "Really? You pronounce things just fine," Bruce pointed out. Tony exhaled through his nose. "I can't do this."

Bruce shrugged at Tony's statement. "I've gotta ask, or Lucius will have my head, but does Fischer Corp have a plan for emergency power systems?" the Gothamite directed at Robert. "Great, now you're ignoring me?" Bruce looked at Tony. "I thought you wanted to stop talking after you said you couldn't do it anymore."

"Tell Lucius not to worry," Robert answered before Tony could throw a fit. "Energy companies _have_ to design back-up power for their energy sources. It's practically mandatory," Tony told Bruce, "and common sense." "I'm not _stupid_," Bruce defended with a smile that made one think otherwise.

Robert observed Bruce during his and Tony's one-sided arguments. Before Robert had learned of dream sharing and extraction, he wouldn't have noticed it, but now, he realised that Bruce's obnoxious act had a shade of…_wrongness_ to it. For what reason the young, charismatic man full of potential had for playing out this character, Robert hadn't the faintest idea, except for the fact that Tony's irritation with Bruce's blunt comments was causing Tony to dismiss wondering after any hidden motive behind Bruce's prodding questions.

Now that Robert was analysing Bruce's act, he came to the realisation that he didn't know the real Bruce, who had mysteriously vanished after Joe Chill's death and had returned to the front of tabloids ten years later, too busy crashing parties and sportscars to let people wonder what happened when he was gone, and where. In the rules of the game, connections, information, and wealth was everything, and Bruce was playing _impressively_ well.

The truth of the matter behind Bruce's questions was that the League of Shadows had attacked Gotham City with weapons and technology that had Stark Industries serial numbers, and the accessibility of such high-grade arms was increasing in Gotham's underground. Bruce needed to know if Tony was resolute over Stark Industries' change of focus, and he knew how to read Tony by playing his rich idiot act.

Also, after the League's attack on the city, Bruce and Lucius had realised that Gotham's power system was scarily vulnerable to tampering — which, in Batman's case, was technically a good thing, but that also meant that power could aid criminal activities as well. Fischer Corp was a reliable energy source, but Bruce needed to know if he could trust the company before making changes in Gotham.

A woman's scream cut through the warm chatter of the charity ball, and all eyes zeroed in on the TV monitor by the wet bar displaying a recording of Batman sweeping out of a drug bust that was in the poor quality of what could only be a handheld camera or phone. All tension eased when it turned out to be a news report on an event that had happened a few hours ago, and the frightened woman was quickly informed by the Gothamite attendees about their local vigilante.

What Robert had noticed, however, was how Tony _and_ _Bruce_ had reacted to the scream similarly: quickly, with intent, and ready to respond to anything. After no danger was identified, they had loosened up; Tony stared a little longer at the news report with professional curiosity, and Bruce seemed to do the same at Tony.

The gears turned in Robert's head, but he didn't know enough. Yet.

"Who names themselves Batman?" Tony returned to their chatter with an attempt to lighten the mood and cover up his brief moment of seriousness. "An idiot," Bruce swiftly replied, and chuckled for a straight five seconds. "I mean, what kind of a person goes around dressed as a bat, of all things?" "Did you pick your name, Tony?" Robert asked. Tony made a negative noise as he downed the last of his scotch.

"Not that I'm complaining. I mean, it's actually a gold-titanium alloy — but hey, Iron Man. I can roll with that." "Your suit's literally made of gold?" Bruce's brows raised. "Yes. Maybe if I let you, you can melt it down and sell it for lots of money to spend on supermodels and swimming pools."

"But—"

"_Alloy,_" Tony stressed. "As in a _mixture_. Not pure. Has qualities of gold, but isn't pure gold." "Bruce never said pure gold," Robert softly reminded. Tony opened his mouth to reply, and froze in realisation.

"I've got to go," Bruce cut in before Tony could make a comment on it. "Carmela and her sister get bored when I leave them alone for too long." Gotham's Prince melted into the crowd, leaving Tony alone with Robert.

"I didn't offend him, did I?" Tony clarified. "It's just, I thought—" "—that with how Bruce has acted before, you were expecting certain words from him without hearing them first?" Robert finished. Tony nodded, mind elsewhere. "Bruce has a way with speech," Robert concluded softly.

* * *

**A/N: I discovered a prompt for a Bruce, Tony, and Robert fic via scherryzade on AO3, and this is my take so far. Hope you like it!**


End file.
